I was once told that I should sow as many courgette seeds as I think I need. Then give half the plants away and you would still have too many. Courgettes are such a prolific crop and as much as I love them as a vegetable with my dinner, they are also brilliant for sneaking into cakes without the kids spotting and for adding moisture. A top tip if planning to use them in cakes is to grow the yellow variety. Then they are even harder for the kids to spot.
This tropical moist crumble cake makes great use of the courgette to keep the cake deliciously moist with a lovely buttery contrasting crumble topping. The inclusion of banana and pineapple and the lime icing gives the cake a fruity and tropical feel. Perfect for a hot summers day.
This recipe featured in Kitchen Garden Magazine, Aug 2018.
Tropical Courgette Crumble Cake
Crumble Topping:
50g slightly salted diced butter
50g plain flour
50g light brown sugar
60g chopped pecan nuts
½ tsp cinnamon
Cake:
120g slightly salted butter
2 large eggs
1 large ripe banana
100g drained crushed pineapple
2 coarsely grated medium courgettes
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g plain flour
150g caster sugar
55g light soft brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
¾ tsp baking powder
Icing topping:
50g icing sugar
juice of 1 lemon or lime
Method
Cake:
Preheat oven to 180c/160c Fan.
Butter and line a deep 8 inch cake pan with baking parchment.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter on a medium heat and cook for 10 minutes until it turns a nut brown. This will add extra flavour to the cake. Leave to the side to cool.
Coarsely grate the courgettes and dry off some of the moisture between some layers of kitchen roll.
Drain the crushed pineapple in a sieve.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat together the banana, eggs, pineapple, courgette and vanilla until smooth. Then add the cooled butter and mix until combined.
In a separate bowl add the flour, sugars, cinnamon and baking powder and mix to combine.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet banana mixture and mix until just combined, do not over mix.
Pour the batter into the tin and smooth the surface.
Topping:
Mix together the flour, sugar and cinnamon and rub in the diced butter until the mixture forms a fine crumble mix. Add the chopped pecans and mix in.
Sprinkle the crumble mix evenly over the top of the cake and bake for 45-50 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean after being inserted into the middle of the cake. If it needs a little longer, cover with foil so it does not burn on top.
When baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin on a rack for about 15 minutes. Then gently turn out onto the wire rack, removing any baking parchment.
Allow to cool fully.
Icing:
In a small bowl, gradually add the juice a little at a time into the icing sugar and mix until it becomes a nice drizzling consistency.
Using a teaspoon, drizzle the icing over the top of the cake.
- Tropical Courgette Crumble Cake
- Crumble Topping
- 50g slightly salted diced butter
- 50g plain flour
- 50g light brown sugar
- 60g chopped pecan nuts
- ½tsp cinnamon
- Cake
- 120g slightly salted butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large ripe banana
- 100g drained crushed pineapple
- 2 coarsely grated medium courgettes
- 1tsp vanilla extract
- 200g plain flour
- 150g caster sugar
- 55g light soft brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- Icing topping
- 50g icing sugar
- juice of 1 lemon or lime
- Cake
- Preheat oven to 180c/160c Fan
- Butter and line a deep 8 inch cake pan with baking parchment.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter on a medium heat and cook for 10 minutes until it turns a nut brown. This will add extra flavour to the cake. Leave to the side to cool.
- Coarsely grate the courgettes and dry off some of the moisture between some layers of kitchen roll
- Drain the crushed pineapple in a sieve.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat together the banana, eggs, pineapple, courgette and vanilla until smooth. Then add the cooled butter and mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl add the flour, sugars, cinnamon and baking powder and mix to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet banana mixture and mix until just combined, do not over mix.
- Pour the batter into the tin and smooth the surface.
- Topping
- Mix together the flour, sugar and cinnamon and rub in the diced butter until the mixture forms a fine crumble mix. Add the chopped pecans and mix in.
- Sprinkle the crumble mix evenly over the top of the cake and bake for 45-50 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean after being inserted into the middle of the cake. If it needs a little longer, cover with foil so it does not burn on top.
- When baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin on a rack for about 15 minutes. Then gently turn out onto the wire rack, removing any baking parchment.
- Allow to cool fully.
- Icing
- In a small bowl, gradually add the juice a little at a time into the icing sugar and mix until it becomes a nice drizzling consistency.
- Using a teaspoon, drizzle the icing over the top of the cake.
